The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) men’s and women’s track and field teams closed out their 2024 season at the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) Track and Field Championships at the Lee Hedges Stadium track in Shreveport, Louisiana. The two-day event that was hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission on April 19 and 20 ended with UVI placing seventh overall in the final GCAC conference standings.
“The inclement weather with a mixture of rain, wind, and low temperatures played a factor in our performance as our athletes are coming from a typically warm climate,” said head coach Dale Joseph. “However, our athletes were still able to perform and improve their times.”
Men’s Team
The opening day of the meet saw three runners of the Buccaneers team in action with
sophomore V’andre Rochester and freshmen Cecil Hector III and Rayhan Sabur. All three
men competed in the third heat of the men’s 200-meter dash on Friday morning.
Rochester finished fifth in the heat with a time of 23.96. The mark became the sophomore
sprinter's personal best after improving his time from 24.34 in his last outing. His
time earned him a 12th overall finish in the men’s 200 meters after holding off Philander Smith University
runner Derrick Island on the home stretch by .01 seconds.
Hector III crossed the finish line at the 24.53 mark, giving himself a seventh-place
finish in the heat. The freshman also improved his personal best time after posting
a 24.94 time in his last meet. Hector III placed 14th overall among all finishers.
Sabur brought up the rear for the Buccaneers in the men’s 200m race finishing 16th overall.
On the second day of competition, senior Nijai Nisbett got his opportunity to compete
in the men’s 1500m race. Nisbett opened up the day for the Buccaneers, running in
the first heat of the middle-distance race. He finished in a time of 5:45.21, about
45 seconds faster than his previous best on the season.
Hector III and Sabur laced up their spikes in the first heat of the men’s 100-meter dash, placing fourth and sixth respectively. Hector III finished 12th overall among all finishers with Sabur not far behind at 14th.
Rochester took on the field in the men’s 400m sprint. In the sophomore sprinter's first time running in at that distance, he posted a time of 1:00.12.
Women’s Team
With sophomore distance runner Ariana Renault scratched due to injury, sophomore Aisha
Sabur was the only member of the women's track team to compete in the GCAC Championships.
On Friday morning, Sabur opened the track meet running in the first heat of the women’s
200m. The sophomore sprinter finished eighth in the heat, crossing the finish line
with an apparent injury.
Despite suffering an injury the previous day, Sabur was cleared by trainers to run
on Saturday in the women’s 100-meter dash. The Flint, Michigan native crossed the
finish line third in her heat and in 10th place overall.
“We are still building the foundation of the program at UVI, however, the new athletics
director Dr. Karen Carty has put initiatives in place that will strengthen our recruitment
and I believe the next recruiting class will move the program forward significantly,”
said Joseph when asked about his final thoughts on the season.
About UVI Athletics
The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and, as of July 1, 2023, competes in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC). Entering the 2023-24 season, the Buccaneers will begin their 17th season of athletic competition. As the only Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Caribbean, UVI currently sponsors six sports, including men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field. For more information on UVI Athletics, visit UVIAthletics.com.